In the past, a number of prior art devices have been devised for lifting and depositing bottles by the neck or cap of the bottle, even though the bottle to be lifted may have had a handle built into the bottle. Although this has proven to be an acceptable method for handling bottles, it presents the inherent problem that if there is a structural fault in the bottle neck or cap, or if the cap has not been adequately tightened upon the bottle, the bottle can slip and fall out of the handling device.
An example of a handling device which carries a bottle by its cap is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,742, issued Sep. 14, 1971, to Sprague. Sprague disclosed an apparatus for automatically lifting and handling objects having off-center neck portions, such as bottles or other containers, supporting them frictionally by the cap of the bottle. This was accomplished in Sprague through an apparatus having an annular ridge and a plate member which descends upon the bottle or object to be carried, and is moved in a orbital path yieldably passing over the cap of the bottle until it frictionally engages and lifts the bottle, solely by its cap. The bottle is then moved to another location, or placed into a packing box. At the time the bottle is to be released, a plunger mechanism releases the ridge and plate member by which Sprague frictionally held and carried the bottle.
The present invention does away with the necessity of frictionally engaging and carrying a bottle by its off-center neck portion. This invention includes a method and apparatus by which a bottle with an off-center neck portion and a handle is positively engaged and carried by its handle for providing a more efficient, less hazardous, and economical method for lifting or depositing a bottle to or from a platform or packing box.